Auditions for Sylvia by A.R. Gurney
The Walpole Footlighters are pleased to announce open auditions for Sylvia by A.R. Gurney, directed by Vito Abate, on Tuesday, July 27 and Wednesday, July 28 at 7:00 p.m. Callbacks will take place as needed on Thursday, July 29 at 7:00 p.m. Auditions will consist of cold readings from the script. Depending on the role(s), you will also be asked to sing. Actors should bring a headshot or a current photo and a resumé and a list of all conflicts from August 26 through Nov 21. Audition forms may be downloaded or filled out at the theater. Performance dates are November 5, 6, 12, 13, 19, 20 at 8:00 pm and November 14 and 21 at 2:00 pm.
Because some actors will be auditioning for 3 and 4 roles, a small group will be put together to start and then others will come and go into the mix based on attendance. Everyone will be seated in the theater and have the opportunity to read for their role(s) and may have additional chances to read. When you check in please let them know if you have a time constraint and we will do our best to get you out by that time.
All auditions and performances take place at the Footlighters Playhouse at 2 Scout Road, East Walpole, MA. All roles are available and open to all. Rehearsals are scheduled for Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday evenings beginning in late August with additional rehearsals added if needed. If you have any questions, or are interested but unavailable during the scheduled times, please email WalpoleSylvia@gmail.com.
Vito Abate is an award-winning actor/director/producer who recently relocated to the greater Boston area. Sylvia marks his Walpole Footlighters debut.
A.R. Gurney has written numerous plays including The Dining Room and Love Letters. Sylvia opened Off-Broadway in 1995 and ran for 167 performances and was revived on Broadway in 2015 for a limited run. It has been produced in regional and community theatres around the country and “from France to China.”
THE STORY: Greg and Kate have moved to Manhattan after twenty-two years of child-raising in the suburbs. Greg’s career as a financial trader is winding down, while Kate’s career, as a public-school English teacher, is beginning to offer her more opportunities. Greg brings home a dog he found in the park—or that has found him—bearing only the name “Sylvia” on her name tag. A street-smart mixture of Lab and poodle, Sylvia becomes a major bone of contention between husband and wife. She offers Greg an escape from the frustrations of his job and the unknowns of middle age. To Kate, Sylvia becomes a rival for affection. And Sylvia thinks Kate just doesn’t understand the relationship between man and dog. The marriage is put in serious jeopardy until, after a series of hilarious and touching complications, Greg and Kate learn to compromise, and Sylvia becomes a valued part of their lives.
In addition to the family triangle, we meet Tom, a seasoned dog owner at the dog park, Phyllis, an old college friend of Kate’s, and Leslie, a gender neutral therapist.
CHARACTERS
SYLVIA (female, can play age range 20s-early 30s)
A dog found by or who perhaps finds Greg, believed to be a Labrador/poodle mix with the qualities of both and then some. Sylvia walks and talks like a human while also behaving and sometimes moving like a canine; barking wildly at a street cat, jumping on furniture, laying on the floor, often down on all fours (with mandatory kneepads) and obeying commands like “sit” and “roll over”. She can be headstrong, vulnerable, argumentative, manipulative and flirtatious. Actor should be agile, adventurous, versatile and very comfortable in her own skin.
Must be able to carry a tune. Sylvia sings two short song excerpts, and there is one brief shared song in the show.
For audition, please wear appropriate clothing for movement and have a 32 bar song/ pre-1950 ballad memorized to sing a capella.
GREG (male, can play age range mid/late 40s-50s)
A father, husband, businessman and thinker who no longer likes his job, he forms an overwhelmingly obsessively strong bond with his suddenly-adopted dog Sylvia. He appears to be going through an early midlife crisis in his work and his marriage, although he would disagree.
Must be able to carry a tune. There is one brief shared song in the show.
Love of dogs a plus.
For audition, please have a 32 bar song/pre-1950 ballad memorized to sing a capella.
KATE (female, can play age range mid 40s-50s)
A mother, wife, teacher and empty nester on the verge of finally fulfilling her dream of teaching Shakespeare in junior high. Strong, determined and happy to be in living in the city and done with raising kids and pets, she soon finds herself in a love triangle (competing with a willful dog yet) and managing a husband who is not only changing the plan but seems to be totally losing it.
Must be able to carry a tune. There is one brief shared song in the show.
For audition, please have a 32 bar song/pre-1950 ballad memorized to sing a capella.
Tom/Phyllis/Leslie (female or male actor, can play age range 30s-50s)
These are not simply “drag roles” but three very different characters (male/female/ambiguous), played by one skilled and risk-taking actor.
Tom is a blue-collar type male dog owner and self-appointed expert on canine-human relations who Greg meets at the park.
Phyllis is an old Vassar friend who Kate who bumps into on the street. A very Upper East Side “ladies who lunch” type, very into New York society, easily flusters herself and is allegedly trying to stop drinking.
Leslie is a therapist who intentionally wears “ambivalent clothes”, may be “a man pretending to be a woman” or “a woman pretending to be a man” and lets her patients select her gender. Her style and manner of therapy prove to be unique, to say the least.
Because some actors will be auditioning for 3 and 4 roles, a small group will be put together to start and then others will come and go into the mix based on attendance. Everyone will be seated in the theater and have the opportunity to read for their role(s) and may have additional chances to read. When you check in please let them know if you have a time constraint and we will do our best to get you out by that time.
All auditions and performances take place at the Footlighters Playhouse at 2 Scout Road, East Walpole, MA. All roles are available and open to all. Rehearsals are scheduled for Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday evenings beginning in late August with additional rehearsals added if needed. If you have any questions, or are interested but unavailable during the scheduled times, please email WalpoleSylvia@gmail.com.
Vito Abate is an award-winning actor/director/producer who recently relocated to the greater Boston area. Sylvia marks his Walpole Footlighters debut.
A.R. Gurney has written numerous plays including The Dining Room and Love Letters. Sylvia opened Off-Broadway in 1995 and ran for 167 performances and was revived on Broadway in 2015 for a limited run. It has been produced in regional and community theatres around the country and “from France to China.”
THE STORY: Greg and Kate have moved to Manhattan after twenty-two years of child-raising in the suburbs. Greg’s career as a financial trader is winding down, while Kate’s career, as a public-school English teacher, is beginning to offer her more opportunities. Greg brings home a dog he found in the park—or that has found him—bearing only the name “Sylvia” on her name tag. A street-smart mixture of Lab and poodle, Sylvia becomes a major bone of contention between husband and wife. She offers Greg an escape from the frustrations of his job and the unknowns of middle age. To Kate, Sylvia becomes a rival for affection. And Sylvia thinks Kate just doesn’t understand the relationship between man and dog. The marriage is put in serious jeopardy until, after a series of hilarious and touching complications, Greg and Kate learn to compromise, and Sylvia becomes a valued part of their lives.
In addition to the family triangle, we meet Tom, a seasoned dog owner at the dog park, Phyllis, an old college friend of Kate’s, and Leslie, a gender neutral therapist.
CHARACTERS
SYLVIA (female, can play age range 20s-early 30s)
A dog found by or who perhaps finds Greg, believed to be a Labrador/poodle mix with the qualities of both and then some. Sylvia walks and talks like a human while also behaving and sometimes moving like a canine; barking wildly at a street cat, jumping on furniture, laying on the floor, often down on all fours (with mandatory kneepads) and obeying commands like “sit” and “roll over”. She can be headstrong, vulnerable, argumentative, manipulative and flirtatious. Actor should be agile, adventurous, versatile and very comfortable in her own skin.
Must be able to carry a tune. Sylvia sings two short song excerpts, and there is one brief shared song in the show.
For audition, please wear appropriate clothing for movement and have a 32 bar song/ pre-1950 ballad memorized to sing a capella.
GREG (male, can play age range mid/late 40s-50s)
A father, husband, businessman and thinker who no longer likes his job, he forms an overwhelmingly obsessively strong bond with his suddenly-adopted dog Sylvia. He appears to be going through an early midlife crisis in his work and his marriage, although he would disagree.
Must be able to carry a tune. There is one brief shared song in the show.
Love of dogs a plus.
For audition, please have a 32 bar song/pre-1950 ballad memorized to sing a capella.
KATE (female, can play age range mid 40s-50s)
A mother, wife, teacher and empty nester on the verge of finally fulfilling her dream of teaching Shakespeare in junior high. Strong, determined and happy to be in living in the city and done with raising kids and pets, she soon finds herself in a love triangle (competing with a willful dog yet) and managing a husband who is not only changing the plan but seems to be totally losing it.
Must be able to carry a tune. There is one brief shared song in the show.
For audition, please have a 32 bar song/pre-1950 ballad memorized to sing a capella.
Tom/Phyllis/Leslie (female or male actor, can play age range 30s-50s)
These are not simply “drag roles” but three very different characters (male/female/ambiguous), played by one skilled and risk-taking actor.
Tom is a blue-collar type male dog owner and self-appointed expert on canine-human relations who Greg meets at the park.
Phyllis is an old Vassar friend who Kate who bumps into on the street. A very Upper East Side “ladies who lunch” type, very into New York society, easily flusters herself and is allegedly trying to stop drinking.
Leslie is a therapist who intentionally wears “ambivalent clothes”, may be “a man pretending to be a woman” or “a woman pretending to be a man” and lets her patients select her gender. Her style and manner of therapy prove to be unique, to say the least.
For all in-person auditions, please bring a headshot and resume, if possible, and please download and complete our auditionfrm.pdf or come prepared to fill out the form before the audition starts, including scheduling conflicts.
For inquiries concerning auditions, contact the Member at Large at memberatlarge@footlighters.com or email audition_info@footlighters.com.
Please check our Audition Tips to help you prepare for auditions.
The Walpole Footlighters Playhouse is located at 2 Scout Road, East Walpole, MA, 508-668-8446. Click here for directions to the playhouse.
Auditions for all Footlighters shows are open to everyone. Most auditions consist of readings from the script. A prepared song is required for musical auditions. Details are usually posted a few weeks before the scheduled audition dates.
When auditions are in-person, they are typically held at 7:00 p.m. or 7:30 p.m. at the theater at 2 Scout Road. Unless otherwise specified, no appointment is necessary. Audition notices will be posted here regularly as well as in the Walpole Times, the Hometown Weekly, NE Theatre 411, and Stage Source.
For inquiries concerning auditions, contact the Member at Large at memberatlarge@footlighters.com or email audition_info@footlighters.com.
Please check our Audition Tips to help you prepare for auditions.
The Walpole Footlighters Playhouse is located at 2 Scout Road, East Walpole, MA, 508-668-8446. Click here for directions to the playhouse.
Auditions for all Footlighters shows are open to everyone. Most auditions consist of readings from the script. A prepared song is required for musical auditions. Details are usually posted a few weeks before the scheduled audition dates.
When auditions are in-person, they are typically held at 7:00 p.m. or 7:30 p.m. at the theater at 2 Scout Road. Unless otherwise specified, no appointment is necessary. Audition notices will be posted here regularly as well as in the Walpole Times, the Hometown Weekly, NE Theatre 411, and Stage Source.